CVE-2026-96404Network attack vectorHinoki check available

Admin account takeover via installer session issuance

Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026

Authentication bypass in Gitea 1.27.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to assume an existing administrator account through the web installer. The installer treats an existing administrator username as a successful account-creation outcome and issues a login token and session without checking that account's password. Exploitation requires a reachable installer connected to a database with users; the resulting administrator session permits account changes.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.44%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in Gitea 1.27.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to assume an existing administrator account through the web installer. The installer treats an existing administrator username as a successful account-creation outcome and issues a login token and session without checking that account's password. Exploitation requires a reachable installer connected to a database with users; the resulting administrator session permits account changes.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-96404
Published
Oct 6, 2026
Updated
Oct 6, 2026
Vendor
Gitea
Product
Gitea
Classifications
T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <=1.27.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Gitea · Giteaversion=0 <=1.27.3

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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